McCartney and Lynch Benefit Concert

“Change Begins Within” Benefit Concert (2009)

On Saturday, April 4th, Paul McCartney will headline a benefit concert for the David Lynch Foundation at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. He will be joined by Ringo Starr, Eddie Vedder, Donovan, Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper, Moby, Bettye Lavette, Paul Horn and Jim James in what promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime evening to support the Foundation’s pledge to teach one million at-risk children to meditate–to give them the tools to begin to change their world from within. Please join host David Lynch for this once-in-a-lifetime benefit event.

Surviving Beatles Unite to Promote Meditation

By Alan Duke

(CNN) — Former Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will reunite on stage next month to raise money to teach transcendental meditation to children around the world to “help provide them a quiet haven in a not-so-quiet world,” McCartney said.

Paul McCartney (above) and Ringo Starr are teaming up for a fund-raising concert.

The star-studded list of performers who will join them include two musicians who were with the Beatles when they journeyed to India’s Himalayan foothills in 1968 to learn transcendental meditation from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

“In moments of madness, it has helped me find moments of serenity,” McCartney said in the concert announcement.

Profits from the April 4 show at New York’s Radio City Music Hall will fund the David Lynch Foundation’s program, which has already taught 60,000 children around the world how to meditate, foundation spokesman Steve Yellin said.

The goal of the project — which is called “Change Begins Within” — is to teach the meditation technique to a million at-risk children so they have “life-long tools to overcome stress and violence and promote peace and success in their lives,” Yellin said.

Schools across the United States have asked the group to bring the classes to their students, he said.

“I would like to think that it would help provide them a quiet haven in a not-so-quiet world,” McCartney said.

Singer-songwriter Donovan and musician Paul Horn, who studied at the Maharishi’s ashram with the four Beatles, will also perform in the show.

“How great to be playing with Paul, Ringo, and Paul Horn again — as we did in India in 1968,” Donovan said.

“It’s a real reunion after 40 years of Donovan, Paul Horn, Ringo and Paul McCartney,” Yellin said. “It’s quite an interesting thing that they are still talking about transcendental meditation.”

Ringo left the ashram after just 10 days — explaining the food was too spicy for his taste — and McCartney stayed for six weeks, according to journalist Lewis Lapham in his book “With the Beatles.”

McCartney and John Lennon wrote many of the songs for the Beatles’ White Album while there, but the group disbanded within two years.

41 years after they meditated together in India … Donovan joins surviving Beatles at reunion gig

heraldscotland

7 Mar 2009

By Mike Merritt

Scottish sixties singer Donovan will join Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr when the two former Beatles play together for the first time in seven years at a special concert next month to help one million children meditate – in a recreation of the historic time they shared in India 41 years ago.

The folk singer famous for such songs as Mellow Yellow and Catch The Wind wants to open a transcendental meditation university in Scotland.

Now he is to join the ex-Beatles for a global benefit concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 4 to teach one million children the transcendental meditation technique – and change the world overnight.

Glasgow-born Donovan, Sir Paul and Ringo will appear with a host of other famous musicians and friends including Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, Paul Horn, Laura Dern, Mike Love and more.

Donovan travelled to India with The Beatles in 1968 to learn transcendental meditation from the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It turned out to be a profound experience for all of them.

His songs Hurdy Gurdy Man and Wear Your Love Like Heaven were inspired by his practice of transcendental meditation. In fact, the Beatles have said that most of the White Album was written while they were meditating in India with Maharishi.

Sir Paul is known to use meditation techniques and paid tribute to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the guru who brought transcendental meditation to the West, when he died last year aged 91.

“He was a great man who worked tirelessly for the people of the world and the cause of unity. I will never forget the dedication that he wrote inside a book he once gave me, which read; radiate, bliss, consciousness’, and that to me says it all. I will miss him but will always think of him with a smile,” said Sir Paul last year.

Donovan, 62, was one of the most popular British recording artists of his day, producing a series of hit albums and singles between 1965 and 1970. He became a friend of leading pop musicians including Joan Baez, Brian Jones, Bruce Springsteen and The Beatles, and was one of the few artists to collaborate on songs with the Beatles. He influenced both John Lennon and Sir Paul when he taught them his finger-picking guitar style in 1968.

But he formed an alliance – to popularise transcendental meditation – with film director David Lynch, famous for Twin Peaks. Now Donovan wants to set up a Scottish university.

The Invincible Donovan University will provide the traditional university subjects, but students will also undergo training in transcendental meditation. Donovan has said he would open the university in either Glasgow or Edinburgh, bringing the hippie dream of world peace to his home country.

The singer said he would like to be involved with some teaching at the university, particularly in relation to music, but his role would mainly be within a steering group for the project.

Lynch said he had practised the technique for more than 34 years. He said through his foundation he had found children undertaking meditation achieve better qualifications at school, boost their creativity, particularly in relation to the arts, and are more productive.

Next month the Change Begins Within concert will raise funds to teach one million at-risk children to meditate – giving them life-long tools to overcome stress and violence and promote peace and success.

Sir Paul said his transcendental meditation practice has helped him. “In moments of madness, it has helped me find moments of serenity,” Sir Paul said. He added that he supports the work of the David Lynch Foundation to bring the technique to one million children. “I would like to think that it would help provide them a quiet haven in a not-so-quiet world.”

Ringo Starr said: “It gives me great pleasure to be part of this evening. I feel the aims of this charity are wonderful.”

Donovan added: “How great to be playing with Paul, Ringo, and Paul Horn again – as we did in India in 1968. Now we see the amazing results of our work from 40 years ago to bring meditation to the whole world. It’s the same message today, which is, Change begins within.’”

The David Lynch Foundation has provided scholarships for more than 60,000 students. It also funds independent university research on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique on stress, learning, and behaviour. Visit www.DavidLynchFoundation.org

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